Railroad boxcar door construction



March 11, 1969 R. P. ROGERS 3,431,964

RAILROAD BOXCAR DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 5, 1966 Sheet 4 .01 5 516.

mvamoa RALPH R ROGERS A T TORNEYS March 11, 1969 v R. P. ROGERS 3,431,964

v RAILROAD BOXCAB DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 5, 1966 Sheet g of 5 INVENTOR. LPH P. Ross Rs M M L AT TORNE Y5 R. P. ROGERS v 3,431,964

RAILROAD BOXCAR DOOR CONSTRUCTION March 11, 1969 Y OfS Sheet Filed Aug. 5, 1966 AT TORNEYS United States Patent Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pair of spaced vertical support members for connection with the door casing members of a boxcar opening together with a horizontal support connected to the upper ends of the support members, a plurality of horizontal sections mounted at the ends thereof on the support members with sealing engagement of the edges of the sections, means for maintaining sliding sealing engagement of the ends of the sections with the vertical supports, cylindrical means carried adjacent the vertical supports to which the lowermost of the sections is connected and upon which the sections are wound or unwound, means for rotating the cylindrical means to wind the sections thereupon, means for maintaining a sealing engagement between the inner surface of the sections and the floor of the boxcar and means for maintaining a sealing engagement between the uppermost of the sections with the horizontal support member when the door is closed.

Summary of the invention The invention relates to boxcar doors and it is an object of the invention to provide a door which is rolled upwardly from a lowermost position to close the opening and downwardly to open the opening with intermediate positions if desired. It is a further object to provide a door which has sliding sealing engagement with the side supports, the top horizontal support and the lower edge of the boxcar opening.

The invention relates broadly to door construction and more particularly to doors for railroad boxcars.

An object of the invention is to provide a door for a boxcar which may be easily operated from a closed position to a full open position and which is a tight seal against the elements from without and the leakage of grain, flour, sulphur and other granular material from within.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a boxcar door which has the above features and which at the same time resists the pressure of a full boxcar of grain. It is an additional object to provide a door for a boxcar which can be opened from the top so as to allow removal of a portion of a car loaded with grain for sampling and inspection.

It will not be here attempted to set forth and indicate all of the various objects and advantages incident to the invention, but other objects and advantages will be referred to in or else will become apparent from that which follows.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, showing by way of example a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the drawings forming part of this application:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a railroad boxcar showing a door embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the door, portions thereof being broken away, and the frame therefor being shown in section.

3,431,964 Patented Mar. 11, 1969 FIGURE 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a view on the line 55 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a view on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary view of a portion of the door sections and the mounting thereof.

FIGURE 10 is a detailed enlarged exploded fragmentary perspective view of the hinge construction of the door plate.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the door A is mounted in a door opening 0 formed in the side wall W of the railroad boxcar B. Secured to and forming part of the wall W are the spaced vertical door casing members 12 and 14. Further provided are the vertical supports 16 and 18, the support 16 secured to the casing member 12 and the support 18 secured to the casing member 14, the securement being accomplished by welding or other conventional methods. The support 16 is U-shaped in horizontal cross-section and includes the bottom wall portion 20 together with the spaced side wall portions 22 and 24 which form a channel 25. The support 18 is also U-shaped in horizontal cross-section and includes the bottom wall portion 26 together with the spaced side wall portions 28 and 30 which form a channel 31.

The numeral 32 designates an upper horizontal channel support formed of the upper portion 34 and the depending spaced side wall portions 36 and 38. The upper channel support 32 is secured by welding to the underside of the upper hollow horizontal casing member 40. The horizontal channel support 32 is connected at one end to and in alignment with the vertical channel support 16 and at the other end to and in alignment with the vertical channel support 18.

Further provided is the lower horizontal channel member 42 secured to the fioor F of the car B and supported by the bracket 44 secured to the floor F and the horizontal channel member 42. Secured to the bottom or rear wall portion 46 of the member 42 adjacent one end is the U-shaped clip 48 and extending through the sides 50 thereof is the pin 52. An arcuate spring 54 is firmly positioned between the pin 52 and the rear wall portion 45 at a point centrally of the spring 54. The arcuate spring 54 is formed with the curved end portions 56. A clip and spring identical to clip 48 and spring 54 is provided, the numerals being the same but accompanied with a small letter a. The numeral 57 designates a sealing bar which is slidably mounted in the horizontal channel member 42 and urged outwardly thereof by means of the springs 54 and 54a as will be more fully explained.

Mounted in the upper channel support 32 are a pair of clips and springs identical to clip 48 and spring 54 but with the numeral designations accompanied by a small letter b. The pair of springs 54b urge the upper horizontal sealing bar 58 outwardly of the upper channel support 32 as will be more fully explained. The ends of the springs 54b are welded to the upper edges of the sealing bar 58 as at W.

Further provided is a first vertical pressure and sealing bar 60 which is mounted in the channel 25 of the vertical support 16 for slidable vertical movements therein. The pressure bar 60 is spring urged and mounted against displacement by means of the arcuate springs 62 secured at the ends thereof to the bar 60 by means of the bolts 64 and 66. Secured centrally of the spring 62 is the sleeve 68 through which the pin 70 extends.

The pin 70 is secured to a pair of spaced wall portions 72 of the U-shaped lower bracket 74, the spaced walls 72 being joined by the bottom portion 76. The bottom portion 76 is welded to the bottom wall portion of the channel of the vertical support 16, particularly FIGURE 2. With the bar 60 secured to the spring 62 and the spring secured to the member 16 the bar 60 is held in the position shown in FIGURE 2. The bar 60 is further held in the position of FIGURE 2 by means of the upper U-shaped bracket 74a and spring 62a which are identical to the bracket 74, and spring 62, the identical parts indicated by the same reference numerals but with an accompanying small letter a.

The numeral 78 designates a second vertical pressure and sealing bar which is mounted in the channel 31 of the vertical support 18 for slidable horizontal movement therein. The pressure and sealing bar 78 is spring urged and mounted against displacement by means of the lower bracket 74b and the spring 6212, which are identical to the bracket 74 and spring 62 by numeral but with an accompanying small letter b. The bar 78 is further held in the position of FIGURE 2. by means of the upper bracket 74c and spring 62c which are identical to the bracket 74 and spring 62, the identical parts indicated by the same reference numerals but with an accompanying small letter 0.

Further provided is the flexible door D which includes a plurality of horizontal disposed sections 80. Each section is arcuate in transverse section, the concave surface being presented toward the inside of the boxcar B. Each of the sections 80, except the top and bottom sections, has formed on the upper edge 82 thereof the female groove 84 extending throughout the length thereof. The lower edge 86 of each section 80, except the bottom section, has formed thereon and extending throughout the length thereof the rib 88.

Additionally provided are a plurality of link bars 90 which are substantially identical. A link bar 90 is rigidly secured to each end of each section 80 as hereinafter described. A link bar 90 includes the flat elongated body portion 92, and formed on the upper end thereof is the recess 94 defined by the spaced ear portions 96 and 98, each ear portion having an arcuate upper end. The bottom of the recess 94 is arcuate as at 99. Each ear portion terminates within the body in the first stop shoulder 100 which is common to 'both ears and normal to the longitudinal axis of the bar body 92. Each of the ear portions 96 and 98 is formed with the pin hole 102.

Formed on the lower end of each link bar 90 is the centrally disposed single ear portion 104 arcuate at the inner portion as at 106 and arcuate at the lower outer portion as at 108. The central single ear 104 is defined by the arcuate cuts 110 and 112 which terminate within the body 92 in the second stop shoulder 114 which abuts and is complementary to the first stop shoulder 100. The single ear portion 104 is formed with the pin hole 116 and the cut 110 is arcuate as at 118 which receives the arcuate end of the car 96 while the cut 112 is similarly arcuate and receives the arcuate end of the ear 98. A bar 90 is secured to each end of each section 80 by welding as at 103 whereby the inner edge corners 105 of the sections 80 are in axial alignment with the axis of the pins 120'.

With the single ear 104 placed between the ears 96 and 98 the holes 102 and 116 thereof are in alignment and secured therein is the pin 120. With the pin 120 in place, the rib 88 of a section fits within groove 84 of an adjacent section for the sealing and securing engagement of one section 80 with another in hinged relationship. The sections 80 are all connected by means of pins 120 thereby completing the door D. The door D is then positioned with the link bars 90 thereof in the channels and 31 of the supports 16 and 18, respectively, as

4 particularly shown in FIGURES 2 and 7, with the pressure and sealing bars 60 and 78 in pressure engagement with the sides of the door formed by the link bars.

Further provided is the housing H which is cylindrical in cross section the upper lip portion 122 thereof connected to the bracket 124 with the outer portion 126 thereof extending upwardly and spaced from the lower horizontal channel 42 to form an opening 128 leading to and from the housing H and through which the door D moves into and out of the housing H. The portion 126 of housing H is connected to supports 12 and 14. Rotatably mounted in the housing H is the shaft 130 and mounted on the outer end of the shaft 130' is the bevel ring gear 132. The numerals 134 and 136 designate a pair of spaced supports secured to the housing end portion 138 which mount the shaft 140 to which is secured the bevel gear 142 for engagement with the gear 132. The shaft 140 is squared off at the end whereby the same will receive a wrench such as X drawn in broken lines, for rotation of the shaft 130 by means of the gears 142 and 132.

Secured to the shaft 130 are a pair of circular door supporting flanges 144 and 146 and on each circular flange is an ear 148. Extending from each of the lower ends of the lowermost section 80 is a pin 150 which extends through a slot 152 formed in each of the ears 148 thereby securing the lower end of the door D to the flanges 146. As the shaft 140 is rotated the door D is drawn downwardly from the closed position of FIGURE 3 and rolled upon the flanges 144 and 146 within the housing H thereby opening the door. Secured to the upper edge of the upermost door section 80 is the horizontal door edge bar 154, FIGURES 2 and 3, which is brought into contact with the undersurface of the spring urged sealing bar 58 for adequate pressure sealing of the top edge of the door D.

To close the door D from an open position, the shaft 130 is cranked to force the door upwardly, the same being guided by the link bars 90 in the channels 25 and 31. The sealing bar 57 is in constant pressure contact with the inside surface of the door sections to thereby make a seal at the lower end of the door.

Depending upon the type and extent of the load in the car B, the door D is subjected to various pressures. To strengthen the door D there is provided the vertical bar 156 the lower end of which fits into a slot 158 in the lower stringer 160. The upper end of the bar 156 slips into a slot 162 formed in the underside of the upper stringer 40. The lower end of the bar 156 tests on the plug 166 mounted in the lower stringer at the opening 158. To remove the bar 156 the same is lifted upwardly into the upper stringer 40 whereby the lower end of the bar is free of the stringer 160. The bar 156 is put into position by slipping the upper end into the slot 162 and then dropping the lower end into the opening 158. The bar 156 prevents the door D from excessive bulging if necessary.

It will be seen that with the door A the same is sealed at the top, bottom and sides when closed and the same may be partially opened for the removal of part of the grain from the car or fully opened. The door may be selectively lowered as needed to empty the car B. The edges of the bars 60 and 78 maintain sealing contact with the side walls of the channels 25 and 31, respectively, while the link bars 90 slide upon the bars as the door is opened and closed.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A railroad boxcar door comprising: (a) spaced vertical support members for connection with the door casing members of a boxcar opening,

(b) a horizontal support member connected to the upper ends of said vertical support members,

(c) a plurality of horizontal sections,

(d) means mounting said sections at the ends thereof slidable on said support members,

(e) means for maintaining sealing engagement of the opposed horizontal edges of said sections,

(f) means for maintaining sliding and pressure sealing engagement of the ends of said sections with said vertical supports,

(g) horizontally disposed cylindrical means carried adjacent the lower ends of said vertical supports to which the lowermost of said sections is connected and upon which said sections are wound or unwound as the same are moved upon said supports from a lowermost position to open and close the door,

(h) means for rotating said cylindrical means to wind said sections thereupon,

(i) housing means for said cylindrical means with said sections wound thereon,

(j) means for maintaining a sealing engagement between the inner surface of said sections and the floor of the boxcar, and

(k) means for maintaining a sealing engagement between the uppermost of said sections with said horizontal support member when the door is closed.

2. The device of claim 1 in which (a) said support members are channel-shaped in cross section and into which the ends of said sections extend.

3. The device of claim 2 in which (a) said means for maintaining sealing engagement of the horizontal edges of said sections includes a dovetail formation thereon.

4. The device of claim 3 in which (a) said means for maintaining sliding sealing engagement of the ends of said sections with said vertical supports includes a link bar secured to each end of each of said sections,

(b) said link bars being pivotally connected and positioned within said channel-shaped support members in sliding contact therewith,

(c) a pressure bar positioned in each of said support members adjacent the link bars therein and in sliding contact with said support members, and

(d) means for urging said pressure bars against the respective link bars.

5. The device of claim 4 in which (a) said cylindrical means includes a pair of spaced circular flanges.

6. The device of claim 5 in which (a) the cross section of each of said sections is arcuate.

7. The device of claim 1 in which (a) said support members are channel-shaped in cross section and into which the ends of said sections extend,

(b) said means for maintaining sliding sealing engagement of the ends of said sections with said vertical supports includes a link bar secured to each end of each of said sections,

(c) said link bars being pivotally connected and positioned within said channel-shaped support members in sliding contact therewith,

(d) a pressure bar positioned in each of said support members adjacent the link bars therein and in sliding contact with said support members, and

(e) means for urging said pressure bars against said link bars.

8. The device of claim 1 in which (a) said means for maintaining sealing engagement of the horizontal edges of said sections includes a dovetail formation thereon.

9. The device of claim 1 in which (a) said means for maintaining a sealing engagement between said sections and the floor of the boxcar includes an elongated horizontally disposed bar,

(b) means for mounting said horizontal pressure bar adjacent said sections, and

(0) means for urging said horizontal pressure bar into sealing engagement with said sections when any of the same are adjacent thereto.

10. The device of claim 9 in which (a) said housing means is positioned adjacent said horizontal pressure bar.-

No references cited.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner. J. K. BELL, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R 

